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It’s a Boy . . . Born to Die

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too
shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds
the power of death—

Hebrews 2:14

While
death is not the first thing that comes to mind on the birth of a baby, it is the
basis of the line of royal succession. Aside from perhaps incompetency, Queen
Elizabeth II must die before Prince Charles ascends the throne, likewise
Charles before William and William before little George.

Jesus
too had an earthly line of succession through King David, as traced in both
Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies. Pre-Jesus, death certainly factored into
succession.

With
Jesus we are faced with a real conundrum, if indeed He must destroy the one who
holds the power of death, by His death. You see, by His very nature God always
was, is, and will always be. He cannot die. Neither can Jesus, as God. Nor
could God appoint a sinless man to die, since none are sinless.

Fortunately
God’s thoughts are greater than mine (Isaiah 55:8). Jesus, fully God, would be
born in order to die. He would take on flesh and blood and share in the humanity
of God’s children. No other way would free you and me from the power of eternal
death.

From
early on in His ministry, Jesus was well aware of the plan of the Father: “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into
the hands of men. They will kill him and after three days he will rise”
(Mark 9:31). From our vantage point we know the cross was the crux of the
matter. How amazing, to think God orchestrated Jesus’ birth to overcome death.

So
we say, thank You, Jesus. You could have
not been born; after all, You were in very nature God. But You made Yourself in
human likeness. You humbled Yourself and became obedient to death—even death on
a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8). You could have succumbed in the deepness of Your
agony (Mark 14:35-36). You could have called on twelve legions of angels
(Matthew 26:53). But You did not. You let the darkness of sin separate You from
the Father (Matthew 27:45-46). In dying You released the death hold of the
destroyer. To You, God, is the glory.